Asylum

The Stillwater Files #1

by K.A. Cook

She is Oscar, the Oscar that would not have been if Amelia did not die.

For the dream of living in a world where love is not a crime, Lord Oscar Stillwater stole her dead brother’s name, clothes and title, pouring his wealth and her sanity into the creation of a sanctuary where the queer convicts of Southport can live in peace—and plot glorious revolution.

Oscar’s lover, Sydney Cliffhall, is forced to watch as the person she adores throws away her life and health in the desperate, maddened pursuit of a dream that cannot be, but what can one whore do to rescue a psychiatrist who refuses to admit her behaviour is anything close to self-harm?

Isabelle Chandler rots in Southport’s jail with no trade, no family and no future beyond enduring predation and degradation, all for the crime of loving another woman. Oscar can offer her a chance at freedom and something even stranger, if Isabelle can learn to trust her. Oscar just has to convince her without arousing the suspicion of two curious prison employees ... or angering Sydney.

The Stillwater Files is an episodic series exploring what it means to be queer and gender non-conforming in a world even bleaker than our own—and what people will risk to change it.

139 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 2, 2014

About the author

K. A. Cook is a masculine-presenting genderless pansexual feminist queer driven to write about non-binary and unconventional souls, mental illness, chronic pain and strong women. Currently a Professional Writing and Editing student, K. A. dreams of starting an e-press publishing queer non-romance genre fiction. In the meantime, K. A. spends their time collecting swap cards and fashion dolls, writing long and reflective blog posts, and coming up with ever more inventive ways to turn their life experiences into fiction.